He was a college basketball hero when I was a college student. He was an anti-war activist at the same time. This was unusual.
He was 7'1" tall, with red hair and the longest arms I've ever seen on a human being. Before Air Jordan, there were Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar soaring through the air, blocking shots that used to have clear sailing to the rim.
He loved the Grateful Dead and Arizona's saguaros and peanut butter. He ate the peanut butter on air. With his fingers. Offering some to his fellow commentator on the sidelines. With his fingers. You either groaned or giggled. There was no in between.
His tangents were legendary, going off and on and around and through mazes that were obviously crystal clear to him but were dazzlingly obscure to the rest of us. Was he watching the game as he bloviated? He pivoted to the action seamlessly when it was worthy of notice. Otherwise, he was sharing the thoughts that bounced around in his brain, regardless of their relevance.
He was a tireless booster of the PAC-12, the Conference of Champions as he called it, emphatically emphasizing the second phrase any time he could.
On Saturday, the final PAC-12 game was played.
On Monday, Bill Walton died.
There's symmetry for you.
Although not a sports aficionado, I do remember Bill Walton. I too was in college when he was playing. Tall, fun guy who played great b-ball. Then I sort of lost track, but learned he was a sports commentator for the sport. His death was a shock. Same age as me. That's way too young to leave, especially when you have that much fun in life.
ReplyDeleteI know!
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Oh yes, now I remember. That big, tall red head with a mouth that sometimes got him in trouble. I am and was always a resident of Pac-10 then 12 land. He was a legend in his own time.
ReplyDeleteAnd he enjoyed every minute of it, didn't he!
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